Alaska Permanent Fund Corp Takes Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 11,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $454,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of JEF. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 56.6% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,573 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 356 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $111,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $149,000. 60.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JEF opened at $43.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $9.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.70 and a beta of 1.37. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.30. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $28.81 and a 52 week high of $47.39.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 4.41% and a net margin of 5.90%. The company’s revenue was up 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 98.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Jefferies Financial Group

In other Jefferies Financial Group news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 1,500,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total value of $65,250,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 15,314,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $666,165,525. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on JEF shares. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com raised Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.33.

Jefferies Financial Group Profile

Jefferies Financial Group Inc operates as an investment banking and capital markets firm in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific. The company operates in two segments, Investment Banking and Capital Markets, and Asset Management. It provides investment banking, advisory services with respect to mergers or acquisitions, debt financing, restructurings or recapitalizations, and private capital advisory transactions; underwriting and placement services related to corporate debt, municipal bonds, mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities, equity and equity-linked securities, and loan syndication services; and corporate lending services.